Jesus

Driving down the street one day, something changed for new St. Luke’s of the Mountains Pastor Rev. Robert Holman. “Circumstances aligned themselves and I found myself praying to Jesus. I never prayed to Jesus before. I prayed to God,” he said. “There was a problem with my employment, it bothered me to no end, and I just said ‘Jesus, you have to make sure things are going to be OK. And then everything changed, and I wasn’t worried anymore. I was no longer concerned, no longer worried.

KIMBERLIE ZAKARIAN Do you ever struggle with secret temptations? We all do. Often, we try to hide these thoughts or habits from our Lord, even though we understand that he knows all and sees all. Jesus empathizes with our temptations because he himself was tempted. The book of Matthew depicts our Lord's temptation in three areas: an appeal to his flesh (hunger), an appeal to presumption (a careless attitude toward grace), and an appeal to idolatry (pursuit of something greater than Christ's life)

Hundreds of congregants packed into St. Kevork Armenian Apostolic Church on Tuesday to celebrate Christmas with the blessing of the water. A holy cross that symbolizes Jesus was dipped in holy water and “Holy Muron,” or oil, during the ceremony. The holy oil was boiled and blessed in Armenia and sent to Glendale for Tuesday’s ceremony, Deacon Tigran Garibjanyan said. “It is about clearing us from our sins, and we are also feeling Jesus coming into us,” Garibjanyan said.

Palm Sunday is approaching. As I reflect on the last days of Jesus? earthly life, I am amazed at how He suffered, as each of us do, with human feelings and circumstances. I see that He experienced monetary need (Matthew 21:2); anger (vs. 12); sleepiness (vs. 17); hunger (vs. 18); faith (vs. 19-21); doubt from others (vs. 23); and utter rejection (vs. 45). He endured the mortal feelings each of us has suffered at one time or another, but in greater magnitude than any of us have.

Hundreds of parishioners gathered inside St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church Wednesday morning to celebrate Armenian Christmas. Many Armenian families Tuesday night honored the theophany — the birth of Jesus, his revelation to mankind and his baptism — by sharing a meal and staying indoors for the holy Christmas eve or going to church, said Hagop Tchagaspanian, the church’s Board of Trustees chairman. “The existence of two accepted dates for celebrating Christmas, Dec. 25 and Jan. 6, does not reflect a doctrinal issue,” he said.

The Crescenta Valley girls' varsity basketball team scored an easy 54-28 victory over Los Angeles Sacred Heart of Jesus in the first round of the 25th annual Bellarmine-Jefferson Christmas Classic on Tuesday. CV, which improved to 7-4 overall, continued participation in the tournament but no results were available at press time. The Falcons will finish tournament play today (Friday) and will not play again until Jan. 10 when they will host Pasadena in their Pacific League opener at 4:45 p.m. In the Sacred Heart contest, Molly Roach led the Falcons with a 13-point effort.

SAN GABRIEL — Given a second chance to qualify for next week’s playoffs, the members of the Holy Family basketball team saw their offense go cold at the wrong time. On Friday night, the Gaels met Los Angeles Sacred Heart of Jesus in a Horizon League play-in game with third place on the line and the right to advance to the postseason. Holy Family mustered just two third-quarter points in a 40-34 loss to Sacred Heart of Jesus at San Gabriel Mission High. The Comets (7-10 and 5-4 in league)

In the March 13 Community Forum of the News-Press, we were surprised to find a reader taking issue with one of my sermon titles. Apparently, Dean Briggs objected to even considering the issue of "What Happens to People Who Have Never Heard of Jesus." In response, he asked rather sarcastically what happens to people who never heard of Gandhi, Buddha, Mozart, Stevie Ray Vaughn or baklava. At our 5-month-old baby church, the Church at Angeles Crest, we are very serious about Jesus, so I won't respond in kind to Mr. Briggs.

Does Easter make you happy? I mean beyond Easter egg hunts, chocolate bunnies and a new Easter dress, does Easter make you really happy? Thoughtful people realize that the implications of Easter go deeper than just the seasonal trappings draped in pastel colors. Easter speaks to our most profound fears and hopes. Does God care about me? Is there really life after death? Can I be forgiven? Can I go to heaven? These are the persistent questions of the soul swirling around Easter. That Jesus was raised bodily from the dead is a bold claim indeed.

Helen Marie Hanson (Yerkes) was escorted home to Jesus by the angels she always loved.  She was born in Jerome, Idaho, April 14, 1919.  She was preceded in death by her husband of over 50 years, Victor F. Hanson, and her son Harry H. Hanson of Bremerton, Washington.  Helen is survived by her Children and their wives, Victor and Mercidita Hanson, Thomas and Eva Hanson and Carol and Joe Huerta.  Helen has eight grandchildren to whom she was the...

I am learning in life to accept pain as something I will learn from. I realize that most of us are familiar with pain. And as Christians, we are familiar with the fact that Jesus suffered just as we do. Scripture tells us so. Yet, he was without sin — differentiating Jesus (God) from us (humans). When I think of Jesus’ pain, I often reflect upon his physical suffering on the cross and the fact that he was not believed to be the Messiah by so many. But sometimes I honestly think that some minor issue of an emotional nature that I am experiencing may not be familiar to Jesus, that Jesus may not have actually experienced that particular thing.

This year, perhaps more so than in any other in recent memory, people can relate to the desperation of Mary and Joseph as they searched frantically for shelter on the eve of Jesus' birth. No assets, poor, and completely dependent on the generosity of others, they came to rest in a stable, beaten back by the harsh realities of even the small town of Bethlehem. As the economy continues to weigh heavily on households — lost jobs, cut hours, lost health insurance — and with little hope for improvement in the near term, more and more people have had to settle into their own stables and accept the humility and frustrations that come with it. It's the range of impact that makes it all so staggering.

Christ was born into this world as an infant who grew into a boy and then a man. He came to save human beings and in the process mystified all, before and after his birth, and then after his death. This mystery began with Mary, then Joseph, and spread to other family members. From there, news of Christ's birth and life perplexed even the Jews — the very people Jesus called his own. Jesus' birth, life and death were very controversial. Have you ever wondered what Mary must have thought, felt and marveled about when an angel visited her and told her she was pregnant?

Hundreds of parishioners gathered inside St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church Wednesday morning to celebrate Armenian Christmas. Many Armenian families Tuesday night honored the theophany — the birth of Jesus, his revelation to mankind and his baptism — by sharing a meal and staying indoors for the holy Christmas eve or going to church, said Hagop Tchagaspanian, the church’s Board of Trustees chairman. “The existence of two accepted dates for celebrating Christmas, Dec. 25 and Jan. 6, does not reflect a doctrinal issue,” he said.

?2012? was at the top of the box office last week. The movie?s plot revolves around the end of the world, supposedly predicted by the end of the Mayan calendar, which expires on Dec. 21, 2012. The movie is described as ?an epic adventure about a global cataclysm that brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors.? The supposed end of the world in 2012 continues to be a hot topic by believers and nonbelievers alike. Does your faith reveal anything specific about the end of the world or how it might look like?

This past weekend, I attended the funeral of a man whom I knew only as an acquaintance. He and his wife were close friends of my parents. The man was a great asset to our parish, where he volunteered thousands of hours over the 40 years he and his wife were parishioners. I last saw him reading the Sunday scriptures during the Spanish Mass about three weeks ago. His deep voice and slow pacing made him an excellent lector. I did not know that would be the last time I would see him alive.